Good Questions: Cleaning Chrome?

I bought this completely great chair to use as a part of my home office on eBay. Sadly, the seller neglected to mention that the chrome on the stand is pretty scaly. Before I go back and hassle him about his less than forth-coming product description, do you have any great ideas for cleaning it up?

Thanks, J

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Dear J,

It's hard to tell from your pic how extensive the ick is and whether the chrome surface is actually damaged, but if it's just a matter of dirt and grime we can suggest a metal polish called Noxon, seemingly named for the noxious fumes it gives off. In a ventilated space, saturate a cloth with this stuff, rub it on, and then polish it off with a clean cloth.

For a heavy-duty chrome clean-up, a friend of our who rides a motorcycle suggests Autosol, also no doubt smelly and fairly toxic. Autosol is slightly abrasive and leaves behind a protective coating.

If this doesn't work, chrome can be re-plated, but a small job like this will be pricey.